Voter suppression hearing to be held Saturday

The National Commission for Voter Justice is holding a field hearing in Milwaukee on Saturday for Wisconsin residents to speak publicly about voter suppression issues statewide.

Attendees from Wisconsin include Milwaukee NAACP President Fred Royal, political writer John Nichols and state Rep. Fred Kessler (D-Milwaukee).

Barbara Arnwine, a co-chair of NCVJ, said the hearing would give Wisconsin residents a chance to give personal testimony of voter suppression, much like a hearing at a trial would happen. Speakers submitted written evidence before the hearing but there will also be an open-mic portion where people can present additional testimony.

The hearings have taken place in several states including Michigan, Florida and California. But Wisconsin’s voter ID law and a high-profile challenge to the state’s legislative redistricting are why Arnwine said Wisconsin “is at the center of voter suppression nationwide.”

Identification is required at the polls for all voters, but the system for acquiring free IDs for those without birth certificates remains murky. The Wisconsin Appeals Court has yet to make a decision on an ACLU lawsuit concerning voter ID laws that is over a year in the making.

Gerrymandering in Wisconsin was recently heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Gill v. Whitford. The court ruled against a Democratic challenge to Wisconsin’s GOP-friendly legislative map while sidestepping the constitutional questions the case raised about partisan gerrymandering. The case could return to lower courts.

William Whitford, the plaintiff in the 2017 case, will speak at Saturday’s hearing.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a prominent civil rights leader since the 1960s, was scheduled to be in Milwaukee but had to cancel his appearance due to a scheduling conflict as of Wednesday morning. Arnwine said he will be replaced by a representative from his Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

Jackson launched the NCVJ in January as a nonpartisan civil rights group that highlights voter suppression and advocates for electoral reform and voter engagement throughout the country.

The event is 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Milwaukee Bar Association, 424 E. Wells St. It is free and also will be live streamed on the NCVJ Facebook page.